It Started With A Girl
by pixieweasley
Summary: Katniss Everdeen and Gale Hawthorne are hunters, providers and friends. Step into their complicated relationship and the events that have molded them.
1. Chapter 1

"You can't just say something as ridiculous as that and walk away Gale!", Katniss's anger was dulled, stifled through the dense forest.

Gale paused, his back towards the woman he'd know all his life, he slowly lifted his palms in a gesture of uncertainty, before turning around to face her.

"It's not ridiculous. I've said it a thousand times Catnip and I'd say it a million times more but nothing will ever change..." Gale replied, slowly raising his head to stare are Katniss.

"Why should anything change? I don't need to remind you about everything that's happened in the last year. There's been so much of change, none of it good! Can't we just be the same?" Her voice pleading with her best friend, trying to make him understand.

Placing his hands into his pocket, Gale softened and whispered, "We're older. We've been through too much to go back. I'll always be waiting for you Catnip. So when you decide to grow up and move on, give me a call."

It all began, like any other tale, with a boy and a girl.


	2. Chapter 2

"You're an idiot Hawthorne!" Katniss exclaimed, while doing some very un-Katniss like giggling.

Gale collapsed into a heap next to her, "Think about it Catnip! It's genius! All we need is a rope, a squirrel and possibly Buttercup and we'd be good to go!"

"Yeah, sure, because people from the Seam cannot possibly wait to that grouchy ginger lump perform death-defying cat leaps. You may need to go back to the drawing board my friend!"

The hunters had been laying on grassy mound in the woods for the better part of the afternoon, getting a well earned break after a long morning of hunting.

Katniss reached backwards feeling for her bag, fingers searching for the special treat she'd saved just for today. Grasping the circular object in her hand, she turned her head to face her Gale. Katniss paused. Though there were times Gale Hawthorne would smile, laugh or even joke around, his face would always tell the tale of one forced to grow up too soon. Except now. Katniss had caught him in moment of complete peace, his face free from the worry lines and tiredness. Right now, he looked every bit of his 17 years. Young, carefree and truly happy.

Not wanting to break this moment, Katniss rolled onto her back and closed her eyes against the rays of the afternoon sun, whilst holding onto her little surprise. She lay for awhile until she felt a gentle nudge on her shoulder, Gale softly called her, "Catnip? Planning to spend the day drooling?"

Waking up with a start Katniss glared at Gale with a stare she normally reserved for her sister's mangy cat, "I was waiting for you fool. You fell asleep, I wanted to be nice. Last time I'm doing that. Happy birthday you creep." Katniss tossed her gift towards Gale.

Catching the orange with a bemused expression, Gale turned the fruit in his large hands. Surveying its colour, it's porous outer peel, all the while wondering what his friend had sacrificed to save up for this little luxury. "Catnip, you shouldn't have wasted your money like this, you didn't need-"

"I know I didn't need to do anything. I wanted to. That's all. Now stop making a big deal out of it and eat it already." Said a slightly disgruntled Katniss, eager to get the attention off of her.

"All I'm saying is that hunting with you on my birthday is pretty much all I needed."

"Well you deserve a little more." Replied Katniss, a little softer.

"Aww Catnip, I didn't know you cared!" Teased Gale ignoring the eye roll that was currently being sent his way, this new form of conversation had somehow become their go to stance in recent weeks. Gale considered it for a moment wondering where it was leading. His thoughts multiplied whilst he slowly began to peel the pliant skin of the orange, he paused enjoying the fragrance billowing off the small fruit. He looked up at his best friend to see her eyes closed, enjoying the citrusy scent. Luxuries like this were rare in District 12.

The two friends sat side by side, savouring the familiar hum of the forest when Gale handed half of the orange segments to Katniss and the two munched their fruits in silence.

Gale turned his face and closed his eyes facing the sun had begun its decent when Katniss reached across Gale. Her fingertips brushed against his forearm, startling both of them. Gale was about to react when he noticed the look of shock in Katniss's eyes, "Thanks for the birthday present Catnip. It really was the perfect day."

Gale could see the tension drain from his best friend and a smile crept onto her face, "Always a pleasure Hawthorne. Come on. We should head back.".

Night settled as the friends walked home, saying good night and parting ways when the time came.

Katniss considered her relationship with Gale, he'd always been her best friend, partner and so much than words could express. He had come into her life when she'd needed the most help. And whilst she'd never entertained the idea of a family that consisted of anyone other than her mother and Prim, if she had to, it would be Gale. It would always be Gale.

On the other end of the Seam, Gale walked home thinking about Katniss. He'd met a gangly girl in the forest who had turned into the woman he now calls his best friend. Try as he might to not acknowledge it, something had changed between them, he had felt it stirring for months. And for the first time, he thinks he may not be the only one feeling it.

"Gale! You're home!"screamed Gale's baby sister as sounds of laughter greeted him as he came through the door. He picked her up, closed the door and put his thoughts aside.


	3. Chapter 3

Katniss travelled the familiar path to their spot. Both eager and anxious to see her friend. What would his reaction be, would he be happy? She did survive. She knew she had to explain, though she wasn't exactly sure what. It's not like she owed him a reason... But she felt he deserved it.

Gale had been her best friend, teacher and taught her to be the provider for her family. And if she was honest with herself, she knew how Gale felt about her. If she was really honest with herself, she would admit her feelings for him. Whether that was still an option remained to be seen and neither of them would be making that decision.

Katniss lightly stepped into the clearing and studied Gale as he he tied an intricate snare. She was about to call out when Gale said, "It's been three days. Finally thought you should come say hi, huh."

"I had to wait for the Capitolites to leave. They wouldn't take to kindly to my visiting another man in the woods." Katniss said this softly, seeing the stormy look in Gales Seam eyes.

She waited for Gale to respond, he quietly placed a hand in his bag to pull out his hunting knife to cut the rope in part. Gale had never been upset with her before and Katniss wasn't sure how she should proceed. The only other time he had been mildly upset with her was in the first months of them meeting. The snow had been coming down for days and game was sparse. Katniss had went own a hunt without Gale, knowing he would have been against the idea. The snow had come down hard that day and she'd holed herself up in a tiny cave in the woods, hoping to brave out the blizzard. Just when she thought she was about to freeze to death she heard a rustling outside the cave. Thinking it was a wild cat, Katniss readied her arrow, aiming at the entrance. To her surprise it was Gale who walked in who had spent hours searching for her. With a warm fire and shared jacket, the two cemented their friendship that night.

Trying to ignore the obvious tension Katniss scoured for a safe topic, "How is little Posy doing? She's gotten so big since I left, shes reading and learning the herbs from Prim.", she waited as the silence grew, threatening to swallow her whole.

Katniss watches Gales large hands weave through complicated knots and turns, if she didn't know him as well as she did, she might never have heard him say, "I'm still confused about why you're out here with me and not with your boyfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend Gale you know that." Katniss looked down at her feet struggling to remember why she'd come here in the first place.

"You sure about that? You two seemed pretty close in the arena..." Gales voice was quiet and harsh.

He stared at his best friend trying to understand what was going on in her head, he knew she was trying to make amends. But after watching her and the bakers son, he just wasn't sure where he stood anymore. It had always been him and Katniss. And no matter how much she protested, they both knew that one day they would settle down and have a family together. But now that she was back, he wasn't sure. The games had changed her.

"It wasn't like that. Not for me anyway..."

"So it was for him?" Asked Gale. When Katniss didn't respond he continued, "So I was right. Mellark always did have a thing for you... Doesn't he know how you feel? Actually Katniss, do you know how you feel?"

"We did it to survive Gale!", Katniss's anger was barely concealed. "You told me to come back, to try to win. I did. I won. I'm back. And you can't even look at me."

"Well...you did come back. I'm just not sure who it is, that came back. 'The Girl on Fire' or my Catnip." Gale stared at Katniss, silently asking all those questions he dare not give a voice.

Katniss bent down to the floor of the forest, the leaves crunched below her as she slowly began to fold her legs, taking in the smell of her home. "You know, when I was in that arena, the only thing I could think of was this, I longed for these woods. These woods and you by my side. The only thing that got me through was pretending I was back home and it was just you and I hunting. It didn't work after my first kill. The moment I released that arrow, that's when I understood why you were so angry, why you hated the Capitol so much. I'm so angry Gale. I wake up and I'm angry, I go to bed and I'm still angry. I go to sleep... And I'm scared. I'm terrified that when I open my eyes I'll be back in the arena. In the dark, I can still hear the mutts growling at me...".

Gales eyes never left Katniss's face. He watched her eyes become wide and unseeing, her face grow paler and emotionless. Gale watched the tears roll down her cheek, he had only ever seen her cry twice. When their fathers had died in the same mining accident, Katniss had stood on that stage in the town square, wiping the singular tear off her cheek and shook the Mayors hand. And when Rue had died during the games. Gale yearned to comfort her, to place his arm around her while she cried, but it was not who they were. They would share tears, and comfort would be the silent acceptance of the other. Of their tears, their pain and their need to move on. The Seam life never did allow you to wallow. Maybe one day they'd have their chance, but it was not this day.

"Catnip... Watching you run around that arena was the most painful thing I've ever had to go through. I kept thinking that I should have volunteered. I should have gone with you, protected you... kept you safe." Gale watched his best friend slowly pick up her head, her puffy eyes looking deep into his own, searching.

"I missed you Catnip. Every second of every day, I missed you." Gale said this tentatively, anticipating her next move, waiting for her to push him away and retreat. But she didn't.

"I missed you too Hawthorne... It's good to be back home.", a smile slowly crept onto the Victors face.

Katniss rose from the crushed leaves and slowly walked towards Gale, she raised her arms and placed it around his neck, whilst he pulled her closer to him. Katniss breathed in the scent of the woods, of fire, of Gale- something that was distinctly home. Gale held his eyes tightly shut, unwilling to let himself forget this moment. He hadn't expected her to come back. He had steeled himself to a long and lonely life. But his Catnip was backed right where she belonged.

Talks concerning the bakers son, the mutts and Gales time alone in the Seam would happen, but it was not today.


	4. Chapter 4

Gale had risen a little later than usual.

Through the thin walls of his bedroom he could hear the rustling of the world outside slowly awakening. He tread softly along the creaky wooden floor, as his hand turned the doorknob, Gale turned to give one last gaze to his little brother. Satisfied that Vic was still sound asleep Gale made his way down the small passage and stopped at the old wooden chest that sat in their family room. He kneeled in front of the chest, as he undid the latch opened the lid, a familiar smell greeted him. It reminded him of his father and he instantly became 14. It smelled of the woods, of earth and of something that was distinct to District 12. Though this was his daily routine, time had not eased the ache it caused within him. After removing his hunting gear from beneath his mother's quilts, Gale set out to meet his friend.

Stepping out into the fresh morning air was something Gale looked forward to, he associated it with the times he has spent in the woods, with his father and most especially, with Katniss.

Walking along the dusty roads of District 12, Gale sees the sun on the horizon, struggling to come up, fighting through the dreary atmosphere of his home. Whilst the sights remained familiar, the sounds of the morning had changed. The stillness of each morning was normally comforting to Gale, was now replaced by an awakening world.

As Gale stepped over a puddle of dirty water, he heard the clanking of metal trays. He picked his head up, angling it to his right, in the direction of the sound. It was the familiar face of Peeta Mellark, looking out through the windows of the bakery. He raises his hand towards Gale in greeting, a smile on his face. Gale contemplated this for a second before returning the greeting with a quick nod- a nod that would have easily been missed had Peeta not been paying attention. Gale wasn't entirely sure what to make of the interaction. He knew of Mellark's interest in his best friend and it wasn't something he wanted to encourage.

Gale walked past the bakery wondering why he had responded, it wasn't like he had a relationship with the bakers son, it wasn't as if he they'd had a conversation or anything that could be deemed even remotely friendly. So why would he greet him? Whatever it was, Gale didn't believe it was good. Sure he believed that there were good people in the world, who had only the purest intentions at heart- however he had yet to meet them. Except maybe Primrose. Katniss' little sister was one of the few people that made Gale believe that there was a bit of goodness in the world. However Mellark was not one of those people. Gale noticed the way he looked at Katniss, nothing in it stated a good intention. Besides, he didn't trust anyone with his best friend.

Gale neared the edge of District 12's fences, getting closer to his way out, closer to Katniss, a smile crept across his lips. If Gale was honest, he'd admit that the only reason he smiled was because of Katniss. As he stepped through the opening in the fence his thoughts began to drift to Katniss. In the few months that had passed, he had noticed a change in their relationship. Where conversations would come easy and basic, their talks now had an edge to them, as if the words they spoke were simply metaphors for what they really felt.

Then a few days ago it happened. Gale and Katniss had been out hunting, going through the snare line and checking for any fresh catch. Neither hunter had been paying much attention while performing the mindless activity when they came to a snare that had recently caught a rabbit. Katniss reached out to remove the rabbit from the snare with one hand whilst extending the other hand to retrieve the knife that Gale was passing to her. In the last four years of hunting together, the friends had touched numerous times, but this time was different. A spark had run through Gales body the moment their finger tips met, something he thought nothing off until he saw her face. Katniss's eyes had slightly widened and she pulled her hand back as if she had been burned. She slowly shook it off and grabbed the knife from Gale, continuing to remove the rabbit as if nothing had happened. This is the moment that changed everything for Gale. Whilst he'd spent a large portion of their friendship falling in love with his Catnip, it seemed that she may have finally felt something too.

Gale neared their clearing, looking around for Katniss, a sense of anticipation had slowly begun to take over him. He moved silently to their rock and noticed three twigs in the shape of an arrow, pointing North. Figuring it had to be the next part of Katniss' cryptic late morning invite, he followed the arrow. Nervous energy coupled with excitement began to rise up in Gale whilst he walked through this unfamiliar path. No matter how much he tried to tell himself this was a normal hunting trip, there was something different about it. Gale was hoping it would be the moment in which Catnip finally noticed him as more than her friend and hunting partner. Maybe it would be the day that Catnip sees him the way he sees her.

Gale followed the trail for the next hour and finally began to slow down as he neared a little lake. Gale had thought he'd known every inch of the woods, of his woods, but this was an area he had never been to. Gale continued to make his way alongside the lake when he started to hear sounds carried on the wind. He tensed for a moment, thinking that there could be Peacekeepers around, until he heard a familiar voice humming along in the distance. As Gale walked over the hill, he saw a tiny building, it looked as if it were from another time. It had to be something that had existed long before Panem had, possibly even before the Great War. The building had a structure to it but looked as neglected as his own Seam home. Gale considered turning back thinking he had lost his way, until he heard her singing along softly. He made his way, taking long strides towards the cottage, the bits of music getting louder the closer he got. It was something he had never heard before and wasn't sure if you would call it 'music', it certainly didn't sound like any ditty he had heard in the Seam.

He walked though the door way to find Katniss leaning over the old wooden flooring, looking into what seemed to be a hole.

"You really need to be more careful Catnip. Anyone could have followed those arrows you know."

"Shush Hawthorne, don't be such a pain. Besides I could hear you coming a mile away." Said Katniss as she turned her face towards the doorway, barely holding back a smile.

Gale strode over to his friend and placed his hunting bag on the floor, "So, how did you find this place... Actually, let's start with what is this place and how have I never come across it?"

Katniss got off the floor and rose to sit on cushion next to a small wooden box. The wooden box had a metal speaker placed above it, Gale searched the recesses of his mind trying to remember why the object was so familiar to him.

"Remember when you asked me how I learned to swim?" Asked Katniss.

"Yeah , I try not to remember the moments that followed too often." Replied Gale, with laughter in his voice.

Through giggles, Katniss said, "I remember that day incredibly well! Possibly one of my favorite days! How's your behind feeling there Hawthorne?"

"Ha. Ha. The pain of your bad teaching lingers." Was Gales sullen response.

"Yeah, lingers. Like your butt hitting the bank. Repeatedly." Laughed the hunter.

"I was learning to swim, okay!"

"Could have fooled me! Here I was thinking you were planning to make a career of falling on your butt!" Katniss' laughter had now become uncontrollable, and although Gale pretended to be annoyed he really did enjoy seeing the woman he loved laugh so freely. It was a rare commodity in the Seam.

"Yes Katniss, let's see how many more times you can fit the words 'butt' and 'fall' into a sentence." Gales says raising an eyebrow at her as he begins to move towards the wooden box.

"You may not find it funny, but I think it's particularly hilarious! Besides with grumpy butt around I make my own fun and I think my jokes are great!" Katniss hiccuped her way through whilst trying her hardest not burst into a fresh wave of laughter.

Gale and Katniss joked around whilst setting to work on making breakfast. This had become a routine they had performed each morning, since that first day. Like all routines, it provided them with a sense of comfort and control; and Katniss and Gale were nothing if not creatures of habit.

Katniss started a fire to lightly toast week old bread, whilst Gale sliced a green apple and placed a tiny sliver of cheese on each slice. The two sat around the fire slowly eating through their breakfast, the silence was comfortable.

Katniss chewed her apple slowly whilst thinking that had it been anyone else she probably would have run out the door, hurrying to her quiet, broken down house in the Seam. She looked up to find Gale staring at her, silently asking her questions she wasn't sure she could answer.

"So Catnip, want to tell me what this place has to do with learning to swim? Or did you just make me take an hours journey so you make fun of me?" Gale smirked at his best friend, it masked his eagerness to know what was so important about this place.

"Well it's a place that's special to me. That's all." Katniss looked away, focusing on the other end of the room, while Gale waited for her to continue.

"My father used to bring me here. I was really little but I remember every trip we made. It's where he taught me to swim. It's also where he told me about who we were before Panem..." Katniss glanced at her friend, waiting to see his reaction before she continued. "This little place holds some of my most happiest memories and well... It's just something I wanted to share with you..." Finished enjoy her story awkwardly not really knowing what reaction to expect.

Gale reached his hand to Katniss and caressed her face, letting his finger tips linger there. Katniss felt heat across her face, she couldn't tell if it was from her own flushed cheeks or was it the fact that Gale and responded so tenderly to her tale.

Gale unwillingly removed his hand, feeling the heat spread throughout his body, all from a simple touch, "Catnip, thank you for bringing me here."

Katniss smiled at her friend- the two had never really needed words to understand what the other was feeling. She watched him wake up from his spot next to the fire and move towards the wooden box he had seen earlier.

"So, you mentioned your father told you about where we came from... Was this something from that time?" Asked Gale whilst he gently touched the metal shaped cone that sat on the wooden box.

"Erm if I remember correctly it's a gramophone, my dad used to play these disks on them." Katniss said as she got up from her seat and walked to the other side of the room and stuck her hands into the hole in the flooring and she pulled out a large box. She handed the box to Gale who opened it and gingerly removed a large circular disk, he turn it over in his hands, staring at the grooves along the surface.

"And those are the disks... Here, let me play something for us." Katniss said as she placed a disk on the circular area of the gramophone and then moved the handle to the edge of the disk. The disk had begun to spin around and a scratchy sound could be heard from the metal speaker.

And that's when Gale heard it, the melody that would always haunt him and remind him of her. "This is it. As I walked over the hill I could hear music and...it's beautiful Catnip."

Gale closed his eyes and listened to the words that began to flow out of the speaker, Katniss saw the sweetest smile spread across his face.

_I can only give you love that lasts forever,_

_And a promise to be near each time you call._

_And the only heart I own_

_For you and you alone, _

_That's all, that's all._

"Catnip? They couldn't have been that bad, could they? People who could created something this beautiful couldn't have bad. They definitely weren't as evil as the Capitol."

"Shh Gale, let's not let them take this from us too." Whispered Katniss, eager to keep that smile on her friends face. She had planned to bring him here for sometime but something always got in the way, until today.

"Dance with me Catnip." Gale smiled and reached his hand out to her.

"I really couldn't, I mean I-"

"Shh, it's a perfect moment. Don't over think it..." Gale kept his hand held out.

Katniss took a deep breath and placed her hand in Gales and moved closer to him.

They both began to move slowly, in tune with the song, Katniss placed her head against his chest. The smell of Gale comforting her, regardless of how confused she felt, he made her feel at home.

Katniss felt Gale move and looked up to see him looking into her eyes and suddenly everything moved into slow motion. She watched Gale's head move towards hers, his eyes searching for a 'no', for a rejection. As he got closer, she took a deep breath bracing herself for what she had always shielded herself from yet it was what she longed for.

Gale's heart beat faster and faster until the moment he touched her lips. He was sure the world had stopped for a moment. He gently placed his lips on hers and began to feel her warm lips moved against his. He moved his hands to gently cup Katniss's face and kissed her a little deeper, tasting what he spent a lifetime longing for. The joy he felt as her lips moved with his, would be impossible to express.

Gale pulled back, hands still caressing her face, and he waited for Katniss to open her eyes.

Katniss felt warm all over, and couldn't stop the giggles from taking over. She opened her eyes and found the loving eyes of her best friend staring back at her. She lifted her hand to caress his and turned her face to place a gentle kiss into his palm.

The two hunters stood, still connected, enjoying their first moment together.

There was one thing Gale knew for certain, he had always loved her but after that kiss, his heart belonged only to her. His Catnip.

_If you're wondering what I'm asking in return, dear,_

_You'll be glad to know that my demands are small._

_Say it's me that you'll adore,_

_For now and evermore._

_That's all, that's all..._


End file.
